All of STRIVE’s programs are designed to support clients at their point of entry and lead them through training, case management, and other services into a job. The goal is to achieve economic stability through living wage employment. All of STRIVE’s services are free to participants.

STRIVE's career pathways program begins with CORE, our signature 4-week job readiness workshop. CORE has three phases: 1) attitudinal training, including problem solving, critical thinking, self-awareness and interpersonal skills; 2) professional skills, including communication, decision-making, workplace ethics and professional etiquette; and 3) work readiness, including career planning, labor market information, resume writing, and interview skills. CORE's emphasis on job readiness has become a national model, and has been proven to increase participants’ job placement and retention rates.

Following CORE, participants progress into a sector-based occupational skills training, resulting in industry-recognized credentials. Occupational skills trainings are aligned with growth industries in each market; examples include construction, food service and healthcare.

Throughout each program, participants receive intensive case management, which helps them overcome obstacles to employment through referrals to necessary services, such as childcare, health care, and housing services. STRIVE’s Job Placement experts ensure that every graduate finds and applies for appropriate job opportunities. STRIVE graduates are given lifetime access to career development and job placement services.

strive future leaders

With more than 33% of young high school graduates unemployed or underemployed, there is growing agreement that more needs to be done to help young adults enter the workforce. Nationwide, one quarter of those enrolled in STRIVE’s CORE job readiness workshop are aged 18-24.

In addition, in 2015 STRIVE launched STRIVE Future Leaders, a new program designed especially for use with STRIVE clients age 24 and under. The program was developed in collaboration with MDRC and the Youth Development Institute, with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

STRIVE Future Leaders is currently being used by 10 STRIVE sites implementing U.S. Department of Labor-funded programs for justice-involved youth living in high-poverty, high-crime neighborhoods. Research shows that having an arrest decreases employment opportunities more than any other employment-related stigma, and STRIVE Future Leaders helps youth overcome this barrier.

Fresh Start draws on deep reentry expertise at STRIVE sites across the country, and ensures that men and women leaving incarceration have access to the training, credentials and support needed to thrive in the modern workforce.